Back in Time
by Squideepoo
Summary: *SPOILERS FOR TKR!* When Madelyn, now a full ranger, goes on a mission to stop a "wizard" in the next fief over, she will be met with a very strange surprise! Is the wizard truly a wizard? Or is he a fake like the others? P.S., spoilers for the story in the title.P.P.S: This story is honestly not based around the wizard. So I would read for the real plot.
1. Chapter 1:Prologue

Madelyn sat back in her chair, sighing quietly. She had just received a report from Drayden fief, claiming that there had been strange disturbances in one of the village areas. A strange man had been spotted sneaking around the forest on multiple occasions, and no one seemed to know who he was or what he was doing. On top of that, she couldn't even get a good description, because no one had actually seen his face. A few different commodities had been stolen from the town, albeit in small quantities. Just a slab of meat here, or a chisel there. He's probably just some common criminal, though Maddie. But the townspeople seemed to believe he was some wizard, sneaking around to collect supplies in the forest for some evil brew. Maddie smiled. Commoners tended to be very superstitious, and the report could very well be nothing. She remembered a story Will had told her once, concerning his own encounter with a "wizard." she remembered him telling her about Halt's description of this type of superstitious report: " Ninety five percent of cases that I've seen have been nothing but mumbo jumbo and trickery. Nothing that couldn't be solved by a well placed arrow." Of course, Drayden fife _was_ very close to her own home, Meric fief , and the current ranger of Drayden had just left for a long mission. She knew that the villagers would continue to send more frantic and less reasonable pleas for help unless she rode over to take a look. Maddie decided to ride Bumper over in the morning to investigate. It would take maybe two days in all to complete the mission, and no one should miss her in such a short amount of time. She blew out the candle she had been reading the report by, and hurried off to bed.


	2. Chapter 2: The Trap

**Hello, wonderful people reading this. I'm sorry chapter 1 had no before or after notes, but I forgot to add them in (In addition to not knowing how to). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave anything helpful that pops in your head in the comments, because, as a new writer, I really do need your criticism and comments. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything written by John Flanagan; characters, scenes, quotes, etc. **

The next morning, Madelyn rode Bumper to the village in Drayden where the letter had come from. The ride took about an hour, and spent the time wondering who the mysterious thief might be. Despite the villagers belief that he was a wizard, or maybe a witch, she was convinced that the reality was nothing so dramatic. The items stolen were too random to be considered evidence, all she could figure was that he wanted to build a little house in the woods. That's about all the items could be used for together. Anyway, she would have to find a way to capture him on his way out, as he'd be far less wary then. She directed Bumper absentmindedly as she formulated her plan, and only noticed the village when it was half a mile away.

It wasn't very impressive, then again, she hadn't really expected it to be. The houses and various other buildings were mainly wood and stone, like most of the villages in the fief. It had a cobblestone road running down the middle, and smaller dirt pathways leading off it. Maddie guessed that the town had been built some time ago and simply repaired as necessary; it had a worn, yet functional, look to it. The village was also fairly small, even compared to the others in the fief. She guessed that everyone knew each other, and that outsiders would be recognized immediately. She spurred Bumper on to the path leading in, and couldn't help but feel a frantic worry emanating from the town. Anyone out in the road scurried around skittishly, not wanting to be alone for too long. So it didn't surprise her when her arrival caused a commotion.

She was immediately greeted by the guard who had spotted her. A small crowd gathered to listen to their conversation."Halt. Who are you, and what is your business here?"asked the man. "I'm Ranger Madelyn, here to see you about your thief in the absence of Drayden's normal ranger," Maddie replied."I can inspect the problem and stop the thief, so your village can continue life as normal." The man's face immediately changed from threatening to welcoming."Ranger Madelyn! So glad you made it! You can go talk to Henry Parthins, the village head, right away, if you please." "Of course, thank you," said Maddie. She rode Bumper over to the crowd that had gathered to greet she asked. "Can anyone tell me where Henry Parthins is right now?" A couple of people pointed to a bigger house near the center of town."Thank you," she said. She rode quickly over to the house, hoping to get started on the mission, when the door opened, and a woman peeped out." What's going on- oh,... are you Ranger Madelyn?" "Yes," she replied,"Are you Henry Parthins' wife?" "Oh, yes I am. Come right in!"said the woman. Madelyn told Bumper to stay put, and followed the woman into the house." Oh, Harry,"the wife called," Ranger Madelyn is here!" "I'm coming!"yelled a voice from an adjacent room. A man emerged from a door not far away, and he quickly turned to Maddie."Hello Ranger Madelyn," he said quickly."How may I help you?" Madelyn replied," Do I have your permission to investigate the robberies in this town?" The man hurriedly gave his permission." Yes, by all means, start as soon as you can!" Madelyn nodded to him and exited the house.

She remounted Bumper and took a quick tour of the village. The townspeople hurried about, a bit unnerved by her presence, but still answered any questions she asked them. She tried to be discreet, however, in case the thief was watching the town. Maddie set a place for her ambush, assuming that the thief would approach from the nearby woods. Then, she rented a room at the inn, and settled down to wait. She decided to stay in her room, in case the thief was watching, and she settled down to read some reports.

•••••••••Time Break•••••••••

After reading many, MANY, mainly boring and unimportant reports, Maddie looked out the window. The sky had turned dark, and the inn underneath her was roaring with life. She crept out of her room and down to where Bumper stood in the stables."Come on, boy," she said." We have a thief to catch."

Madelyn came to the place where the thief normally entered the village, and where she planned to create an ambush. She had just settled down for another long wait (oh joy), when she heard someone sneaking through the undergrowth. Maddie quickly and silently scanned the area. She say the infiltrator slip in some few meters away. As a ranger, her cover was extremely important, as her best weapon was the element of surprise. So she allowed the thief to slip into the village and steal his quarry, whatever it would be tonight. Maddie only had to wait a few minutes before the thief, carrying a small bundle, snuck back out of the village. She walked softly up behind him, then pressed the tip of her saxe knife between his shoulder blades." Don't move. You've been placed under arrest by a King's Ranger for stealing from this village." The man, perfectly still, said," I wasn't stealing, merely borrowing. I'll give it back soon enough." He had an extremely foreign accent, surprising Maddie to the point where she nearly dropped her knife. "Who are you?"she asked. "Something beyond your wildest dreams," he replied."However, I must say goodbye now." Madelyn opened her mouth to argue, when the man pointed a slim object behind his back at her. She leapt back instinctively, but it was too late. Maddie felt herself knocked back by an explosion in front of her, and was knocked back into the forest, which appeared to have come closer to the village. When Maddie's head stopped reeling, she looked around.

She had somehow been blown into the forest, which she had remembered being farther away, and it was a lot lighter out. Then she stopped and looked more closely at her surroundings. This couldn't be the forest near the town; first of all, the town _should_ still be in sight through the trees, and secondly, this type of tree didn't grow in Drayden fief, nor anywhere in the other forty nine, that she was aware of. She stood up to examine the trees an figure out where she was. Maybe she had been knocked out and someone had carried her here. Madelyn was standing there, still trying to puzzle out where she was and how she had arrived when she felt something poke her between the shoulder blades. Oh, she thought slightly randomly, this must be how that thief felt when I caught him. She heard a deep masculine voice, which most certainly did not belong to the thief, say," _Freeze_."

**Who does the mysterious voice belong to? Who was the thief? What will happen next? Why am I asking you question I already know the answer to when you, the reader, cannot answer me? D Anyhoodle, have fun waiting for the next chapter, and thank you to my two story/author followers! Please R&R, **

**Squideepoo**


	3. Chapter 3: Gone

**Hello ya'll. Sorry it's taken me awhile, but I'm still working on the plot line I hope you enjoy this, and thank you for all the lovely follows. And now, without further ado...**

**Disclaimer: I own no characters, places, etc. in this fic. All them belong to John Flanagan. **

**And****_ now, _****without further ado...**

"Gone! How can she be gone?" Gillian exclaimed." As far as I was told, she wasn't even on a mission!" "Well, you see," began Harry Parthins, head of the village she had been begged to protect." You see, we had this thief comin' in the town, some say he's a wizard or sorcerer, and we sent letters to Ranger Madelyn askin' her to check it out. So she comes, sets up a trap, hides, and before ya know it the thief comes sneakin' in. So she catches 'im on the way out." There was a momentary silence."And then what?" inquired Gillian warily, almost afraid to ask."And then," the man hesitated." And then she just disappeared." Gillian let out a held up breath." Alright, you're telling me that Ranger Madelyn caught the thief then vanished?"asked Gillian." Into thin air,"agreed Harry."I dunno what really happened, but one minute she's there, the next she's gone! Oh, and there was also a bright flash of light right before she disappeared." Gillian restrained the urge to face-palm due to the gravity of the situation."And you didn't think to mention that trifling fact before?"Gillian practically shouted."All this disappearing talk and you forgot to mention that there was a bright flash of light before she disappeared? She disappeared in a bright flash of light." Gillian shook his head slowly."Go attend to your town before someone sets it alight or something." The village head frowned at him for a moment before saying,"Well, aren't you cheery?"and striding out of the room quickly. Gillis sighed. Cheery. Of course. Of course he would be perfectly cheery when the princess, who was currently finishing her ranger career by completing some small assignments, had vaguely "disappeared" just outside of some small town in Drayden fief in some mysterious way, with the only clues being a "bright flash of light" right before her disappearance. Gillian stood up and wearily began to make preparations. As much as he hated to do it, he was required to inform the royal family of their daughter's disappearance. He also had to appoint a temporary position of ranger to Meric fief, probably to some younger recruit that was currently without a fief to guard. He also sent a letter out to the ranger of a fief nearby, hoping he could investigate the scene more thoroughly. And last, but obviously not least, he'd have to ask that ranger to check up and see if the thief was still there, because he could be the cause of the disappearance of the disappearance of Ranger Madelyn. Gillian would talk to Horus and Cassandra first. Madelyn was only supposed to be a full ranger, going on missions and the like, officially a ranger, for one year. Then she was to return to the palace and figure out the rest of her future with her parents, whether to stay at the palace or continue being a ranger. Her parents had never wanted Madelyn to be injured or traumatized with her ranger experiences, which was one reason they had asked for her to be put under Will, who they both knew would protect her, yet still push her. Once Will had trained her, she had been accepted as a full ranger, and her parents had agreed to one year of missions and Meric fief. Of course, no one there knew her identity, at least not as a princess. However, princesses, even ranger princesses, are supposed to be highly protected at all times, which Madelyn obviously wasn't, and now he had to tell her parents that she had disappeared in a "bright flash of light" somewhere off in Drayden, and that he had no idea where she was or if she was even alive. Gillian ran out to Blaze, his horse, and saddled her up."Where are we going?"Blaze asked."We're going to inform the King and Queen that their daughter has disappeared." By this time he had swung himself onto her back."What? Ranger Madelyn has disappeared?"his horse exclaimed."Yes, and not only that,"said Gillian, urging her into a canter."I have no idea how she disappeared either! She couldn't have just vanished, but still, there should have been some clue." Blaze snorted."Sounds serious," she said. Gillian glanced down at her."It certainly is."

**Sorry, I know it's a bit mean not to follow Madelyn (wherever she is), but I need to work on the exact details of that part of the plot line. However, the next chapter, or at least the one after that, should go back to her. This would have been in the story at some point, anyway.**

**Please R&R! (I really need it),**

**Squideepoo**


	4. Chapter 4: Captured

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this, but I wanted to align this scene with the cannon (which is partially why the last chapter had nothing to do with the exciting stuff). Again, I really am sorry this took so long, and I hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any scenes, dialogues, characters, etc from Ranger's Apprentice. All belong to John Flanagan. **

Maddie slowly raised her hands above her head. The mysterious stranger, who's knife was poking her between the shoulder blades, began to question her with his strangely familiar voice. "Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around this place? And why in the world are you wearing a ranger's cloak?" Maddie tilted her head slightly, pondering this strange man. "What do you know about rangers? Most people think they're evil magicians or something," Maddie said, hoping to not immediately give away the fact that she was a ranger, although the cloak practically did that for her. "Well, most people are wrong, then," the man answered. "Now, who are you?" Maddie started to turn around in puzzlement. "I must know you. Your voice-" "No, face that way," the man said, pressing the point of his knife against her back. "Answer my questions or things will get messy." Maddie was hit with a sudden realization. Reflexively, she leaped forward and turned around, letting out a quick gasp. "I know you! You're-" she managed to blurt out before a sharp blow hit her head and everything went dark.

Maddie awoke slowly, groaning from the bump on her head. She found herself tied to a tree near a campfire. Four figures sat around the fire, a man, to young men, and a girl. They appeared to be eating soup, which the girl and smallest of the men were eating very quickly, as if they were starved. Maddie shook her head her vision suddenly clearing. She realized that two of the men wore ranger cloaks, and all of the figures seemed strangely familiar. She also began to remember how she had gotten here, the "magical thief" who had knocked her back with an explosion, waking up in the clearing, being threatened by- by Halt. But certainly that had been a dream. Wherever that clearing may have been, it couldn't have been Halt standing there! He was in Redmond fief, far away from Drayden fief where she must have been. That is, unless someone had carried her away. Also, the man hadn't recognized her, and he had obviously looked at her face since knocking her out. If he had recognized her since then, she wouldn't be tied to a tree. Pondering the bizarre situation, Madelyn didn't notice the man who appeared to be Halt walking up to question her once more. She looked up and yelped. "Oh, sorry, you just scared me," she told him. Deciding to get strait to the point before he could take the lead, Madelyn quickly asked," Are you Halt?" Halt abandoned whatever he was about to ask her and replied with a slightly taken-aback,"What?" Madelyn waited patiently for a reply. "Depends on who's asking," he finally replied gruffly. "Why, Madelyn of course," Madelyn stated with an air of frustration."Now, why are you imitating Halt?" The Haltish man looked at her with even more confusion. "What makes you think I'm not Halt?" he asked curiously. "It's simple," Madelyn said."The real Halt would know who I am." The man stared at her."Who are you really, then?" Maddie tilted her head slightly and fixed him with a confused gaze. "I'm Ranger Madelyn," she announced. "But you are definitely not Ranger Halt." Halt furrowed his eyebrows. "You can't be a ranger. There are no female rangers," Halt said unbelievingly."You must have sacked a ranger and ate trying to pass off as him." Maddie eyed Halt suspiciously. "That's exactly what you're doing," she exclaimed. "You can't expect me to think that Halt has just totally forgotten me!" Halt shook his head slowly and retreated to the fire. He called back to her,"I am Ranger Halt, but you are certainly no Ranger Madelyn." He then joined his comrades seated by the fire. Madelyn rolled her eyes and wondered if this were some practical joke taken way too far. Then again, Halt certainly wasn't one for practical jokes. She closed her eyes and leaned against the tree, listening to the conversation around the fire. "First and foremost," Halt began, "my aim is to get you, Will, and the Pr—" He hesitated, stopping before he said whatever he was about to say. "Will and Evanlyn, and Horace, of course, across the border and out of Skandia. As escaped prisoners, you're in considerable danger if the Skandians recapture you. And, as we all know, that danger is even greater for Evanlyn." Maddie wondered what the Halt imposter was talking about; Will, Evanlyn, Horace... Halt continued talking, but Madelyn had dozed off after such a strange day, preferring to cover up what she did not understand with dreams for the moment.

**I hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, I'm still glad you read it. Either way, please R&R below and tell me how I'm doing. This is my first story on this website, and I may need to change some things. I will try and update again soon, but school is looming up ahead, and this may take a while to write. Anyhoodle, goodbye for now, **

**Squideepoo**


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